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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393802">A special occasion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomcactaceae/pseuds/randomcactaceae'>randomcactaceae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Orchids [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, but its mostly frustration, jamie being romantic, maybe a little bit of angst later</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:48:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,929</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393802</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomcactaceae/pseuds/randomcactaceae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jamie never liked celebrating Valentine's day, but this year she's willing to make it up for Dani, which on the other side loves the occasion. </p><p>Part of the Orchids series (soft damie fics).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dani Clayton &amp; Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Orchids [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150448</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Friday, February 13th, 1988.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie woke up to her alarm clock, as usual. She turned the alarm off, stretched, and rolled to her side to find Dani half-asleep beside her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go back to sleep” she murmured as she planted a kiss on her temple. Dani smiled as she closed her eyes again. She then got out of bed, got changed and went to the kitchen to eat something for breakfast. She turned on the coffee machine and made some for Dani when she woke up. After she was done, she watered the plants and grabbed her coat. She needed to get to work earlier since she had many flower arrangements to be delivered due to Valentine’s day. She didn’t like Valentine’s day. In fact, she never found it special. It was just a normal day for her, except that it was filled with people getting carried away by consumerism. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t very keen on celebrating Valentine’s, but she knew Dani was. In fact, Dani enjoyed it. Last year, on their first Valentine's together, she bought Jamie lots of roses and chocolate boxes. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And what’s this all for? I mean, I know, but what’s the purpose? It’s like any other day”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Come on Jay, it’s fun. I’ve loved all this since I was a girl”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie knew Dani loved Valentine’s, so she decided to make it special for her this year. For them, actually. Even though it was against her made-up beliefs, she thought maybe it would turn into an enjoyable occasion. And especially because she knew it would make Dani happy, and that was everything that mattered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was working on her flower arrangements around 6:30 when she heard the little bell on the door ringing. It was Dani.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why so early Poppins?” she asked her with her casual smirk. She then approached her and leaned in for a quick kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I think it’s better to come help. How are we doing with those arrangements, by the way?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m working on them. We have a few left, so it won’t take us much time”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’ll help with the rest” Dani answered with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both worked on the remaining floral arrangements and loaded them into the back of the truck so that Jamie could deliver them to the customers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be safe, okay?” Dani said as Jamie opened the door of the driver’s seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will. Take care too. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can” she answered as she got in the truck. Dani smiled and waved goodbye as she headed back to the flower shop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie liked making deliveries because it meant a little alone time. She sometimes got too overwhelmed to see many people around the shop, and driving around the little town alone while listening to the radio somehow made her feel good. Today, though, she had many things in mind. She was planning on preparing everything for her Valentine’s date the next day. And she wanted it to be a surprise for Dani, so she used the excuse of making the deliveries to buy some things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The deliveries were kind of quick, since she already knew the way to most of the customer’s locations. They were frequent clients, so it was easy for her to remember where to go. She had some others in which she had to locate the street in a map, though. It was only their first year living in Vermont, so she -and Dani as well- didn’t know many places yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She somehow managed to end earlier as planned, so she headed to a grocery store, far from her area. She was planning on buying some things to prepare an outdoor dinner with Dani. She thought about making some pasta, along with red wine- a soft Merlot- and home-made bread. She had also recorded a cassette full of songs that Dani liked, with some others that reminded her of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She chose the wine and bought it along with the raw pasta, some lettuce and tomatoes, olive oil, and cheese. Then she headed to the stationery section of the store and chose a small card with a pressed flower on it. She never wrote long letters to Dani, but she thought a message will do fine for the occasion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she was done with the groceries, she packed them in the truck and headed home. She knew Dani wasn’t going there since she was in charge of the shop. She arrived, grabbed the things, and quickly ran upstairs to their flat. She opened the door and organised the groceries into the cabinet, away from plain sight. She then went to her room and put the note inside of her drawers, in order to write on it later. Then she rushed to the door, locked it, and went back to the flower shop in the truck, so that Dani didn’t become suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She parked the truck on the usual spot in the street, and came back inside the shop. Dani’s smile grew wider as soon as she saw her. She was attending some customers, so Jamie headed to the storage room to leave her coat and then headed to the backyard to work. As soon as the customers left, Dani approached her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you’re back, how did everything go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It went all good, I guess” Jamie answered with a smirk as she looked up at Dani.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I missed you” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really?” Jamie asked teasingly as she stood up and leaned in for a small kiss. Dani placed her hands around Jamie’s neck and kissed her back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let’s get back to work” Jamie said with a grin when they pulled apart. Dani smiled back and kissed her cheek as she returned back to the counter.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The two women resumed their work until it was finally time to close. They tidied up the shop and headed back to their flat, following their daily routine. They both got changed into more comfortable clothes and went to the living room to watch TV.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After their relaxation time, Jamie headed to the kitchen and took out the flour and the yeast she brought for the home-made bread.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey babe, I went to the grocery store earlier and I thought we could make some bread? I thought it'd be fun”  she said casually, hoping Dani didn’t take any hints.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you serious?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani’s face lit up. Jamie knew how much she loved baking, and even though she didn’t actually enjoy it, she wanted to make an effort to make it special.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani quickly stood up, put her hair in a bun, and went to the kitchen. She started clearing the area where they were going to work, as Jamie took out the ingredients. She was trying not to get Dani looking into the cabinets so she won’t find out her plans for the next day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They gathered everything they needed and started to cook. Dani took out her recipe book Edmund’s mom gave her some time ago, when they were engaged. She flipped the pages until she found the bread recipe, and so they went. While Dani was elated with the cooking, Jamie got easily distracted and switched her attention to constantly teasing Dani and eating the dough. They enjoyed the moment, each one in their own way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After they were done, they proceeded to clean everything up and get ready for bed. Dani climbed to bed first and Jamie proceeded. Even though most days Dani was the big spoon whenever they cuddled together, Jamie insisted on switching and being the big spoon that day. As soon as Dani was fully asleep, she carefully untangled her arms from her waist and rolled to her side on the bed. She sat up and opened her drawer quietly. She then took out the empty card she’d bought, and quietly headed to the dining table. She grabbed a pen, sat down, and started writing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Poppins,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I never thought one day I’d be actually celebrating this silly occasion, let alone with someone I love. Damn, woman, the things you make me do.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I love you more than words can say.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yours truly,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Jamie.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<span>She finished writing and folded the card, and proceeded to write “For Dani'' on the front, beside the pressed flower attached to it. She turned the lights off, went back to their room, and carefully placed the card inside of her drawer, and closed it. She then wrapped her arms around Dani once more, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tomorrow’s gonna be interesting</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thought as she closed her eyes and drifted away to sleep.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Sunday, February 14th, 1988.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Since Jamie woke up,she tried to mantain her attitude towards Valentine’s clear, so that Dani never thought she had something planned. It was a Sunday, so the flower shop was closed. Dani surprised her with some butter cookies-her favorites-when she woke up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy Valentine’s, love!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awww, thanks Poppins” she said. She always loved Dani having those gestures. She did that on random days, and obviously this day the reason was Valentine’s. Dani knew Jamie didn’t enjoy Valentine’s, so she didn’t even mention going to eat somewhere. She thought the plan was like any other Sunday: they’d stay home, maybe have lunch in their small patio, and take the day to rest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The day went on and it all seemed pretty common, but Jamie had everything in mind. It was around 18:30, when Dani decided to take a bath. They were supposedly going to have dinner and watch a movie, after they’d spend the day cleaning and arranging their flat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t take long” Dani said as she got in the shower.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the food.” Jamie answered with a smile. As soon as Dani went inside, Jamie rushed to prepare everything for the surprise dinner. She set the table on the patio, put the vase with flowers on the center, and attatched the note she’d written on top of the flowers. She even put a candle on the table. Then she closed the curtains, so Dani won’t see anything if she came out of the shower earlier. She then focused on preparing dinner. She took out the pasta she bought, and opened the bottle of wine. Meanwhile the water for the pasta boiled, she took out the bread they made the night before and sliced it in order to put it in a plate. She set everything outside and then proceeded to play the cassette she’d made for the ocassion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani got out of the shower, put on her clothes, and went to the kitchen. She was curious about what Jamie was doing, since she heard pots and pans apart from the music she was playing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What 's all this?” She asked, kinda suspicious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie turned to look at her with a smug smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well...” she started, as she leaned in on the counter, “it’s Valentine’s, and I thought maybe we could, have a celebration about it, perhaps?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani spread a wide smile across her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? You’re saying you want to celebrate Valentine’s?” she asked, still a bit puzzled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you know I don’t particularly like this day, but I know you do, so I, uh, I made something for you” Jamie answered sheepishly. Dani went and excitedly wrapped her arms around her. Jamie embraced in a tight hug, happy that Dani was really excited about her idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re missing the best part” she said with a smirk, as she held Dani’s hand and led her to the patio. She opened the curtains so that she could see the table she’d set. Dani squeezed her hand and looked her with a look that ressembled when a kid went to the beach for the first time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jay this is…..wow. I never thought you’d actually want to do something today”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie let go of Dani’s hand and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her closer to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s all for you”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani smiled as she wrapped her arms around Jamie’s waist and leaned in for a kiss. Jamie kissed her back and deepened the kiss, as their bodies moved together in synchrony.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they pulled apart, Dani smiled sheepishly as she untangled herself from Jamie’s embrace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If this is really happening, then I gotta change. This is a special ocassion, you know”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to, babe”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on Jay, let’s make it more special” Dani said bubbly. Jamie grinned as she nodded. Dani then headed to their room to get changed, and Jamie finished the cooking so that they could have dinner whenever they were both ready.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani chose a wine-colored dress, which was one of her all time favorites. She also wore her pearl necklace and some heels. She felt like a teenager getting ready for prom. Jamie really did her best to make it up for her on Valentine’s, even though she hated it. And that made her happier than she ever imagined. She never thought Jamie would actuallt arrange a dinner date for the both of them. She was finishing doing her makeup when Jamie came into the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn, Poppins, you look so beautiful” she said with a smirk. Dani smiled sheepishly. Jamie headed to the closet and picked her clothes. She chose a dark-blue jumpsuit and the earrings Dani gave her for Christmas. When she was ready, Dani was waiting for her in the living room. She walked towards her,  took the bottle of wine from the table, held her hand, and led her outside. Dani sat down and Jamie placed the bottle of wine on the table. Then she proceeded to take her seat. Jamie noticed Dani hadn’t found the note, so she proceeded and gave it to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is also for you” she said as she handed in the card. Dani took her and carefully opened it, reading with special interest. She finished reading and a wide smile spread across her face. She reached out for Jamie's hand and gave it a small squeeze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I love you"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie smiled sheepishly back at her, her eyes never looking away from hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I love you too, Dani"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for doing this” Dani said. “I really appreciate it"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I just wanted to make you feel good today" Jamie said, with a bit of shyness in her voice. It was the first time she planned a whole dinner date, and it was certainly going great.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani smiled as she put the note aside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shall we start, then?" She asked. Jamie nodded as she served the wine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were both enjoying their dinner when it suddenly started to rain. At first, they didn't care about it, but it started to increase progressively as time went on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Fuck" Jamie said, as she saw the rain increasing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Let's take this inside. You grab the wine and I'l take the plates" Dani said in a bossy tone as she quickly grabbed the plates and any other thing her hands could hold, and headed to the kitchen. Jamie took the wine bottle and the glasses, and then came back for the flowers and the rest of the cutlery. She somehow felt disappointed. Not with herself, but because this was the first time she set up a dinner date all by herself. She knew the weather was the only thing to blame, but she somehow felt she had disappointed Dani as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They finished taking all back inside and Jamie proceeded to close the door. Dani started putting the now empty plates on the sink in order to wash them. The whole mood was ruined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie headed to the counter to reach for her glass of wine. She drank what was left of it and put it back on the counter with a sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"One time" she said, with a bit of rage. "One time I try to set everything up, and the bloody weather decides to fuck it all up"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani closed the faucet, dried her hands, and walked towards Jamie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But why are you this mad?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Because I wanted today to be special, I wanted to make you feel special"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani grabbed Jamie by the shoulders as she looked at her with some concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Jay, it's still special. I mean, you managed to set this all up without me noticing and then you surprised me with it. And for me that's what it's all about. Knowing you planned every detail to make this, that's what matters."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie relaxed her gaze as Dani spoke. At least the fact that Dani was still mesmerized after all made her feel better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know, the intention is what matters, that's what everyone says." Jamie said, with a little sarcasm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani took both of Jamie's hands in her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But hey, everything was going great. At least we get to properly finish eating before the rain intensified"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well yeah that's true" Jamie answered, a bit more relaxed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dani proceeded and kissed her in the cheek. Jamie slowly wrapped her arms around her waist, maintaining her not so far from her. She kept quiet for a while until Dani started slowly to sway to the music.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Come on, wanna dance?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie just nodded as Dani led her to the living room just to wrap her arms around her neck once more. Jamie grabbed Dani's waist again and they both started swaying to the music. Dani occasionally leaned in for a kiss, which Jamie happily accepted. Her mood started to get better again. At least Dani was happy after all, and that meant everything to her.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, that was a bit cheesy. I hope you enjoyed it!<br/>Let me know what you think! Happy Valentines!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed it!! Since we're close to Valentine's, I think this fits in very well. I like to imagine a not-so-excited Jamie on Valentine's, and a cheesy Dani on the other hand, (but Jamie's a softie on the inside, I believe.) The next chapter will have the actual date Jamie planned, so stay tuned!<br/>Also, this fic came from an anon prompt on tumblr- thanks anon!!<br/>Original prompt:<br/>damie Valentine’s Day prompt: jamie surprises dani with an outdoor dinner, set up all romantic and then, rain starts to pour. Jamie’s all sad they have to move it inside but danis like “it’s still special!! 🥰” . and tbh jamie definitely wrote a song for dani. VALENTINES BABIES</p></blockquote></div></div>
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